Racial Disparities in Psychiatric Outcomes among Parenting Women in Treatment for Substance Abuse

Background: Substance-abusing parenting women have problems in needs of help in many key life domains. This study focused on racial differences in psychiatric outcomes among parenting women in treatment for substance abuse problems. Methods: Subjects were 917 parenting women (with children under age 18) admitted to substance-abusing treatment programs in 13 counties across California. The Addiction Severity Index was administered at treatment intake and the 9-month follow-up. Descriptive, ANCOVA, and Logistic Regression analyses were conducted to examine differences among white (n=525), Black (n=180), and Hispanic (n=212) women in their psychiatric outcomes. Results: White women reported a higher ASI psychiatric severity score than Black and Hispanic women at intake (0.29 vs.0.23 vs. 0.21; p<0.01). At the 9-month follow-up, the ASI psychiatric score for each racial group decreased (0.14 vs.0.17 vs. 0.12), and there was no significant racial difference in the ASI psychiatric score at the follow-up, controlling for the baseline ASI psychiatric score. In addition, White parenting women demonstrated a significantly higher percentage of trouble understanding, concentrating, or remembering, and suicide thoughts in previous 30 days at treatment intake than Blacks and Hispanics. However, there was no significant racial difference in symptoms of trouble understanding, concentrating, or remembering, and suicide thoughts, controlling for the baseline psychiatric symptom status. Conclusion: Findings indicated that for all racial groups, psychiatric problems decreased after substance abuse treatment. White parenting women especially benefited from the treatment as they demonstrated greatest improvement after treatment.